Astronaut Jim Lovell, who flew on two Apollo-era missions in 1968 and 1970, recorded a message for the Artemis II crew before his death in 2025.

What began as a mission to land on the moon became history’s most harrowing space rescue after a technical failure forced the crew of Apollo 13 into a 200,000-mile race for survival.

The four astronauts embarking on NASA's lunar flyby became on Monday the humans to travel farthest from our planet, as they begin documenting areas of the moon never before seen by the naked eye.

By Joey Roulette and Steve Gorman HOUSTON, April 6 (Reuters) - The four astronauts of NASA's Artemis II mission cruised on Monday to the deepest point in space reached by any human, following the tug of lunar gravitational force en route to a rare crewed flyby over the shadowed far side of the moon.

The four astronauts who flew around the moon channeled Apollo 8’s famous 1968 Earthrise shot with a powerful photo of Earth setting behind the gray, pockmarked satellite.

Artemis II's roughly six-hour lunar flyby Monday is due to set a distance record for human spaceflight and promises views of the lunar far side and a solar eclipse.

Fans were eager to see the Artemis II crew's recreation of the “Earthrise” photo taken by Apollo 8 on Dec. 24, 1968 by William Anders. The iconic picture shows Earth peeking out from beyond the lunar surface as the Apollo 8 crew circumnavigated the Moon.

The four astronauts of NASA's Artemis 2 mission have arrived at the moon. They entered the lunar sphere of influence early Monday morning (April 6).